Tips for Battle of Warships
Destroyers Fast and maneuverable, these small but heavy hitting ships are great multitaskers being able to perform a wide variety of roles with equal competency. This versatility and firepower comes at the cost of HP, with even the toughest destroyer being only 120K HP give or take. Sub-classes Destroyers can be classed into 4 distinct categories: * Gunboats * Blitz * Torpedo boats * Utility Gunboats Ships that fall within this Sub-class include the Z20, Shimakaze, and Yukikaze. They are classified as gunships due to their gun on gun firepower when compared to their counterparts. Light Gunboats Z20 is classified as such as it's torpedoes are the worst in the game, dealing only 10K damage per torp. She trades this however, with eye-watering rounds per minute being able to spam shells every 2 seconds for a grand total of 600 rounds a minute. This is the second fastest firing gun in the game and when paired with HE shells, makes for a great fire starter which will deal substantial damage over time. Shimakaze and Yukikaze are worth a seperate mention. Ships of this classification are great as cleaners and "machine gunners" as their rate of fire will melt any opposition with enough given time. Heavy gunboats Shimakaze and Yukikaze are classed as Heavy gunboats because their gun firepower often exceed that of cruisers and even rival low tier battleships. Playing this sub-class of destroyer are great as pocket battlecruisers and can deal substantial damage to enemies no matter what the terms of engagement are. Do be reminded that Yukikaze requires more careful planning as she is also the slowest destroyer when fully upgraded. Blitz The ships that fall under this category are Leningrad and Shimakaze. Blitz destroyers are characterized by their speed and high HP values. These ships serve to barrel straight into the front lines, drawing enemy fire away from allies and delivering all taken damage back with interest in the form of their torpedoes. The 2 most important times for a blitz destroyer is initial exchange and the ending of the fight. In the initial engagement, blitz destroyers can soften up tough targets way before they can get in range of allies such as battleships and allow the entire team an easier time dealing with enemies. At the end of the most intense fighting, blitz destroyers also serve as the fast response cleanup unit of the team. With base speeds being well into the 50 knots, no ship in the game can outrun them. Torpedo boats Ships that fall into this classification include Mahan, Yukikaze and Shimakaze. Mahan and shimakaze are notorious for their absurd Torpedo counts and damage, both destroyers dealing more than 14K dmg per torpedo with Mahan releasing 12 torps and Shimakaze 15 torps per salvo. Yukikaze is also infamous as her torpedoes reload within 52 seconds, allowing her to spam her torpedoes even if they deal lower damage. To use them efficiently, upgrade speed to the max and equip Canadian or Brazillian flags. Put on a speed boost (you should get plenty of those from containers) and charge bow-on into powerful enemies. You narrow beam will ensure your safety, and dodging helps. Once within 1km, you turn and unleash hell. At that point, large enemies like battleships and cruisers cannot outturn the torpedoes and will take a huge beating. Expect a huge salvo during the torpedo turn, and expect to get close to death. For Mahan, immediately turn back for your third set of tubes and continue gunning down your target. Utility Destroyers that fall within this classification include Fletcher, Melvin, and Mahan. Utility ships are characterized by their High AA damage and balanced stats with both their torpedo and gun firepower being in the middle and having decent speed of generally around 44 knots. Due to their versatile nature and high AA damage, utility destroyers often are the bane of aircraft carriers as their AA allows them to virtually demolish entire squads of planes. They are also very cost effecient, with their ammunition being very cheap but the return they generate often net a profit many times the amount of the money spent. Cruisers Being versatile ships of the line and having firepower that rivals battleships, Cruisers can be categorized into 5 overlapping sub-classes: * Gunfighters * Battlecruisers * Torpedo cruisers * Anti aircraft * Generic cruiser Gunfighters These cruisers are often known for their ludicrous dispensation of lead. Ships that fit the bill are Des Moines, Brooklyn and San Diego. These ships are capable of dispensing a wall of lead towards their enemy and serve as support ships first and foremost. San Diego is particularly infamous as her rate of fire matches and even exceeds that of Z20 at over 700 rounds per minute, San Diego can be treated as a oversized Z20 due to this. Brooklyn has the most guns per broadside of any cruiser in the game with 15 guns. This makes her not only punch hard, but also allows her to start fires very easily for such a heavy hitting ship. Battlecruisers The ships that fit the definition of a battlecruiser are the Atago, Des Moines, Deutschland and Brooklyn. They are characterized by their battleship-like HP and firepower with all of them dealing damage around the 30K mark. They can also be played as an improtu mid tier battleship if needed and can also take over as flagship of the fleet. Torpedo Cruisers Torpedo cruisers include Admiral Hipper, and Atago. These ships are have torpedoes that can give even torpedo boats a run for their money and can often be played like upscaled destroyers with much better HP and firepower at the cost of speed. Anti Aircraft Cruisers that fit this bill includes only the Brooklyn. This is due to it being the only cruiser in the game that has AA guns that deal over 1K DPS and with more interceptors than all of them to boot. This make tham natural bane of aircraft carriers and their main job is to provide air cover and hunt down carriers. Generic Cruiser This category includes Deutschland and Repulse. They have no real specialization to classify them into any other category but are very versatile and have cheaper ammo to boot. Carriers Carriers provide long range assistance and precision strikes against the enemy and have virtually unlimited attack range. They can be classified into 2 categories: * Spammers * Surgical strikers Spammers Spammer ships include the Kaga, Midway, Graf Zeppelin, Enterprise, and Hornet. They are characterized by the large air wing they have and the quick ready time of aircraft. Surgical strikers These ships are characterized by their high bomb damage being able to sink even the toughest battleships with only 5-8 bombs. While powerful, they reload slower and often have a smaller air wing. Ships of this type include Sangamon, Akagi, and Junyo. Battleships Being the heavy firepower of fleets and the undisputed rulers of the sea, Battleships often carry big guns and deal heavy damage with high HP. They can be classed into: * Dreadnoughts * Fast Battleship * Heavy Battlecruiser * Super Battleship * Bow tankers Dreadnoughts These ships are the middle of the bunch in terms of stats and often with their firepower tending to be on the lower end of the spectrum. most of these ships are also slow but have very tight turning ability. They include the Royal, Grosser Kurfurst, Texas, Arkansas, Nagato, and Fuso. These ships often rely on their faster reload to dish out damage and specialize in dealing with inferior ships and fighting other dreadnoughts. Against stronger ships, it is advised to stay back and play a supporting role instead, helping to relieve pressure on front line allies. Arkansas and Fuso are particularly dangerous as they can fire 8 of their 12 guns when running away from the enemy, making them both hard to hit and hard hitting kiters. Texas and Kurfust should also be avoided when in a team as their high HP pool for low level ships and high damage will maul even meat shield ships very badly in a close range duel between multiple ships of their type. Royal is a good ship for gunning down similar spec and inferior ships while still dishing out decent damage. Fast Battleship Ships of this class include Kongo, All Iowa class battleships, Bismarck, and South Dakota. These ships often posses high firepower in conjunction with high speed often being at least 34 knots even without flags equipped however trades this in weaker AA and very large turning circles. Heavy Battlecruiser 3 examples of this type of subclass exists in game. Scharnhorst and Tirpitz. These battleships specialized in close range knife fights due to them also having torpedoes and powerful secondary guns. Any ship within 2.5km of them is guaranteed to have a bad day if not dealt with swiftly. Sovetsky soyus has a unique bow that allows her to close the distance while bouncing off many shells and is just as deadly as the previous 2 ships. Super battleship Ships of this type include the Yamato class, and H41 Montana. They capitalize on damage and nothing else, sacrificing speed and agility for AA and gun firepower. Bow tankers Ships of this subtype include Dunkerque and Rodney. They are ships capable of focusing all their firepower in the front of the ship, allowing them to bow tank while dishing out more damage than non bow tanking ships that are also bow on. They are perfect for rushing in while dealing heavy damage while receiving little damage in return. Their primary disadvantage is their only above average firepower and the lack of the ability to engage enemies on the aft. Flagship A flagship is basically any ship that can last till the end of the game and have a large impact, hence flagships, since a flagship needs to be around to coordinate the fleet. Ships of this type are the Montana and Alsace. They are both powerful ships that can force the entire enemy team to change their plans, and unlike yamato have good mobility and powerful AA(Alsace is an exception). Enemies In Battle of warships there are 2 main types of enemies. Players and Bots. when you are not connected to the internet you are automatically matched against bots and when on wifi you get matched to players. do note that if you leave mid-game the game will continue when you come back but now all the ships are bot controlled instead of player controlled. In most cases bots are an preferable opponent as they aren't as crafty as players but one exception to this is carrier bots. They have near pinpoint accuracy with their torpedo drops which make them the most dangerous foe you can go up against at any range past 2KM. GENERAL TACTICS: Generally, the map plays a role in what kind of battle ensues. Small, open maps suit large super-battleships while islandic maps fit destroyers and fast ships. As a general rule of thumb, it is not the best idea to charge full speed into the middle of the map, even for super-battleships. If you are in the middle, choose a flank with more powerful allies and push from the sides. Otherwise, stick with whoever you have. From your flank, you are likely to face another group of anywhere between 1-5 enemy ships, and together you should take them out one by one. Battles will then spill over to the middle ground, and once you are done with your flank you can cross the map to help the other side. "Capturing the middle" does nothing to help you allies, but helps the enemies get a free kill. Category:General tactics and teamwork